The present invention relates to an office partition furniture system, and in particular to a free-standing, partition-type furniture system telescopingly expandable in both the lateral and vertical directions, so to easily subdivide an open space within a room, and to adjust to architectural conditions and limitations.
The efficient use of building floor space is an ever growing concern, particularly as building costs continue to escalate. Open office plans have been developed to reduce overall officing costs, and generally incorporate large, open floor spaces in buildings that are equipped with modular furniture systems which are readily reconfigurable to accommodate the ever changing needs of a specific user, as well as the divergent requirement of different tenants. One arrangement commonly used for furnishing open plans includes movable or portable partition panels that are detachably interconnected to partition off the open spaces into individual workstations and/or offices. Such partition panels are configured to receive hang-on furniture units, such as worksurfaces, overhead cabinets, shelves, etc., and are generally known in the office furniture industry as “systems furniture.”
Numerous partition panel systems have been developed for dividing office workspaces into smaller areas. Some of these partition panel systems utilize prefabricated rectangular partition panel members that have a unitary rigid perimeter frame with decorative cover panels fastened opposite sides thereof. Each perimeter frame member has a rectangular shape, and is fabricated and shipped as a single unit, often with the decorative cover panels pre-fastened to the frame. During installation, the prefabricated perimeter frame of each panel member is fastened to the perimeter frame of an adjacent panel member along the vertical edges thereof, either directly, or by a separate fastener post. Each partition panel member includes two height adjustable feet or glides along the bottom edge of each panel member, with one glide being located adjacent each vertical panel edge. Since there are two vertical frame members at each panel joint, this type of panel construction results in structural redundancy. In addition, since each glide must be properly adjusted for height, this configuration requires adjustment of both glides at each panel joint during assembly. Furthermore, although longer panels typically have a lower cost per unit length, longer panels are difficult to handle, which places a practical limit on the size of the partition panel member that can be shipped and installed as a prefabricated unit.
Other partition panel systems utilize prefabricated rectangular partition panel members having a unitary perimeter frame that attaches to a post member along each vertical panel edge. Although this type of design may have a single glide at each post, each panel-to-post connection has at least two vertical structural members. Since only a single vertical member is needed to provide support and height adjustment, this type of system has redundant structure. In addition, the rectangular partition panel members are manufactured and shipped as a unit, limiting the size of the partition panel members that can be used.
A furniture system is desired that can be easily and quickly assembled, may be easily rearranged and reconfigured to satisfy the needs of a changing business environment in a particular setting, provides a low-cost alternative to complicated partition panel systems, and allows for reduced, as well as simplified ordering, assembling, managing furniture assets and shipping costs while simultaneously providing adequate room-dividing properties.